Vacuum cleaners are generally supplied with a range of tools for dealing with specific types of cleaning. The tools include a floor tool for general on-the-floor cleaning. The floor tool comprises a main body which engages with a floor surface. The main body has a lower surface comprising a suction opening through which, in use, dirt and dust is drawn into the floor tool from the floor surface.
It is useful for the main body to be pivotably connected to the remainder of the floor tool so that the suction opening can remain in close proximity to the floor surface as the floor tool is maneuvered over the floor surface.
For example, KR 10-0895129 describes a floor tool having a main body and a conduit connected to the main body for conveying an air flow away from the main body. The conduit is connectable to a wand of a vacuum cleaner, which usually has a handle which is manipulated by the user to maneuver the floor tool over the floor surface. The conduit comprises a front section which is pivotably connected to the main body of the floor tool to allow the front section of the conduit to be moved between raised and lowered positions relative to the main body. The front section comprises a pair of fluid inlets located on opposite sides thereof through which an air flow enters the front section of the conduit. This allows seals to be maintained between the main body and the conduit during relative movement therebetween, and also allows a combination of the main body and the front section of the conduit to have a relatively low profile when the front section is in its lowered position to enable the floor tool to be pushed partially beneath an item of furniture or the like.
The conduit also includes an elbow-shaped, or angled, rear section which is connected to the front section of the conduit. The rear section has a front part having a front tubular connector which is received within a tubular connector of the front section of the conduit so that the rear section can rotate relative to the front section about an axis which is co-axial with these tubular connectors, and a rear part having a rear tubular connector which is connectable to the wand of the vacuum cleaner. The rear part is inclined to the front part by an angle of around 150°. Consequently, when the front section of the conduit is in its lowered position and the rear section aligned so that the wand and main body are generally orthogonal, the rear part of the rear section of the conduit extends upwardly relative to the main body, and so the floor tool cannot be pushed fully beneath an item of furniture unless the rear section of the conduit is rotated relative to the front section so that the wand is flat against the floor. In this position of the wand, the longitudinal axis of the main body of the floor tool is inclined by an angle of around 30° relative to the wand of the vacuum cleaner. This makes pushing the floor tool fully beneath an item of furniture awkward for a user.
Furthermore, the elbow-shape of the rear section of the conduit restricts the insertion of the floor tool into narrow gaps between adjacent items of furniture, or between a wall and an item of furniture to clean the local floor surface. This means that the user may have to change the tool connected to the wand of the vacuum cleaner to enable this part of the floor surface to be cleaned, which can be inconvenient for the user.